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Updated 4.45pm
THE FORMER CHAIRMAN of IBRC, Alan Dukes, has said he is “extremely angry” at suggestions of malpractice or criminality in the IBRC sale of Siteserv.
Dukes, a former Fine Gael leader, was responding to the controversial sale of the Siteserv to the Denis O’Brien-owned Millington in 2012 for €45 million.
“I am extremely angry at any reference to criminality or malpractice. There’s absolutely no grounds for suggesting that,” he said at a press conference in a solicitor’s office in Dublin today.
Dukes said he felt compelled to talk in the wake of days of controversy on foot of the release of documents showing tensions in the relationship between the now-defunct IBRC, formerly Anglo Irish Bank, and the Department of Finance, including Minister Michael Noonan.
TheJournal Politics / TwitterHuge media interest in the Alan Dukes press conference #siteserv pic.twitter.com/hDVM8KWai2
— TheJournal Politics (@TJ_Politics) April 24, 2015
Dukes said the “very fact that there’s any mention of criminality or malpractice is absolutely outrageous” and of those raising objections in recent days, he said:
“There are people around who see conspiracy in their tea leaves.”
He gave an extensive outline of the process by which Siterserv was sold to Millington in 2012 and insisted that the Department of Finance was kept informed and briefed of the sales process throughout this time.
“There was nothing hidden about this,” he told reporters.
Dukes said that in his time as chair of IBRC, the focus of the board was on getting the best value for the shareholders and the State.
Hugh O'Connell / TwitterDukes says, with a smile, that he is not currently considering legal action on foot of claims made in recent days #siteserv
— Hugh O'Connell (@oconnellhugh) April 24, 2015
Dukes said that prior to Siteserv’s sale, the company owed IBRC around €150m and was in some considerable difficulty where it was “bleeding cash” and was finding it difficult to get contracts.
He said that IBRC would have got “very little out of a wind-up” and there was nothing to be gained by calling in loans because “there was just no money there”.
Dukes explained that in selling Siteserv there were about 50 expressions of interest but the decision was taken to exclude so-called trade buyers as there was a danger the sale would be “upscuttled” by those looking to get inside information.
Hugh O'Connell / TwitterAlan Dukes very relaxed at today's presser, which has just ended #siteserv pic.twitter.com/km30Uw48b3
— Hugh O'Connell (@oconnellhugh) April 24, 2015
He said that while there was another company, Altrad, which was offering a higher bid, the conclusion was that there was a substantial risk that this would be “gradually get whittled down”.
He said that the bank’s chief risk officer oversaw the transaction because it was likely to be “high value and highly visible”.
He said there were “adequate measures” taken to ensure that the legal firm Arthur Cox, which represented both sides, did not present a conflict of interest.
Dukes said the sale was discussed at regular review meetings that the bank had with officials from the Department of Finance.
On the €5 million that was paid to shareholders in Siteserv, Dukes insisted that this was appropriate in the circumstances, saying:
The company was being sold. It wasn’t being put into liquidation. Some value, however residual, was being got.
When IBRC was approached with ”incontroverable evidence” of wrongdoing in the Siteserv case, Dukes said this evidence amounted to a “a newspaper clipping”.
When the matter was raised by then-Department of Finance secretary general John Moran at a meeting in July 2012, Dukes, who was at the meeting with IBRC CEO Mike Aynsley, told the senior civil servant that the board was satisfied with the sale.
TheJournal Politics / TwitterDukes: I have no doubts whatsoever as to the competence of our CEO (Mike Aynsley), I would back his judgement #siteserv
— TheJournal Politics (@TJ_Politics) April 24, 2015
TheJournal Politics / TwitterDukes on relationship between Mike Aynsley and Denis O’Brien: I don’t think anything in that relationship impacted on transactions in IBRC.
— TheJournal Politics (@TJ_Politics) April 24, 2015
However, Dukes dismissed suggestions that a review of the sale had been carried out – as has been claimed in some quarters.
That matter has morphed into the suggestion that the board carried out a review. The board did not carry out a review.
Dukes also addressed the issue of Noonan being recorded in the minutes of a meeting with IBRC of not being confident about accounting for the bank’s actions in answers to the Dáil.
When he heard this, Dukes said he asked his former Fine Gael colleague if there was ever a case where he was nervous or embarrassed about going into the Dáil with IBRC’s information.
“His [Noonan's] reply was that he hadn’t,” Dukes said.
Asked if he had spoken to Noonan in recent days, Dukes said he phoned his former cabinet colleague on Tuesday to say he was “extremely concerned about what was coming out” and asked for unredacted versions of the documents.
On his relationship with Noonan, Dukes said:
As far as I know, there is no personal animus between us.
Dukes said that both he and Aynsley are now seeking all documentation referring to them from the Department of Finance.
TheJournal Politics / TwitterDukes says he is “amused” that KPMG liquidators are conducting review (They acted for #siteserv)
— TheJournal Politics (@TJ_Politics) April 24, 2015
He said that he was “quite happy” that the special liquidators are carrying out a review of certain IBRC transactions. He admitted that he did not know how many transactions, or which ones, would be examined.
“I’m quite happy that a review is taking place and I have absolutely no doubt that nothing untoward will be found,” he said.
TheJournal Politics / TwitterDukes: We didn’t just have the belt and braces, we had the belt and braces and the safety pins as well #siteserv
— TheJournal Politics (@TJ_Politics) April 24, 2015
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Wonderful news getting this off the streets.
@Derek Moean: whatever about the cannabis which is relatively harmless, good that those dangerous prescription drugs were seized. And as for the cocaine, whatever mixed white powder it is, one thing for sure is it is extremely dangerous leaving it controlled by a black market.
@Derek Moean: A quick phone call and you can have any of those drugs this morning for the same price they were yesterday. The same people who would have bought them yesterday will buy them today. This quite literally has zero impact on the market and is a complete waste of Garda resources especially when they’re cancelling 999 calls and failing to respond to urgent incidents. The insanity continues..
@Declan Doherty: definitely blame Gardai for enforcing the law. Imagine how much time they’d have to invest in other crimes if people didn’t use illegal substances….
@Paul Clancy: You are naive to think that human beings will not consume drugs. Its in our nature.
@Black Iron Tarkus: indeed. But neither could you expect society to exert no control over the recreational use of drugs really. As long as it isn’t allowed people use some caution, which holds it in check to a point but if that barrier was removed I could imagine a lot more problems with people under the influence of whatever they had taken. That said obviously the system that is there now is flawed and needs to be looked at. I do not think the answer is to think that because people will take drugs regardless we just let them at it.
@Mick Murphy: Not allowing something doesn’t stop people from doing it. If people want to take drugs they’ll take them regardless of the law. All prohibition does is drive it underground, create a profitable market for criminals and make it more dangerous for consumers. It also costs the state millions in a futile “war” when we could be generating significant revenue through taxation. We allow the sale of one of the most toxic, and harmful drugs on the planet while denying people the right to far safer alternatives. It’s hypocritical, it’s wrong and it needs to change.
@Mick Murphy: what are you basing your theory of people holding back when drugs are illegal? Is it just a gut feeling or is it based on the exponential increase in drug use since recreational drugs were made illegal?
With respect, I suggest your (and most people’s ) belief that illegality is needed to reduce use, is a fallacy with no evidence to back it up.
The next question is why you want use to reduce… if it is for public health and safety reasons, these goals would be best achieved in a legal regulated way.
If it is purely a moral point of view, that we just don’t like the idea of people altering their mental state… maybe that has no place in our laws.
People will consume drugs and have done since the dawn of time. It is part of the human condition.
@Paul Clancy, the vast majority of people who use illegal drugs do not have to commit crime to pay for their habit. How many robberies do you think The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Steve Jobs, Adam Clayton, Ronnie O’Sullivan etc had to commit to fund their drug use.
@Derek Moehan, oh yeah “wonderful” news, this will improve yours and my day, I sarcastically agree.
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